# James Stacy
**James Stacy** (born Maurice William Elias; December 23, 1936 – September 9, 2016) was an American film and television actor best known for starring as Johnny Madrid Lancer in the CBS western series *[Lancer](https://www.edgepedia.org/lancer-tv-series)* from 1968 to 1970, and later for an acting comeback after a 1973 motorcycle accident cost him his left arm and left leg.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-james-stacy-obit-20160919-snap-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Maurice William Elias, born December 23, 1936, in Los Angeles, California[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) |
| Signature role | Johnny Madrid Lancer, a half-Mexican gunman, in the 20th Century Fox series *Lancer*, 1968–1970[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-james-stacy-obit-20160919-snap-story.html) |
| 1973 accident | Struck by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle; his girlfriend, Claire Cox, was killed and Stacy lost his left arm and left leg[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-james-stacy-obit-20160919-snap-story.html) |
| Comeback | Returned in *Posse* (1975) as a newspaper editor, a role Kirk Douglas created expressly for him[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) |
| Emmy nominations | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for *Just a Little Inconvenience* (1978) and Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series for *Cagney & Lacey* (1986)[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/james-stacy) |
| 1996 conviction | Sentenced to six years in prison for molesting an 11-year-old girl; served the full term at the California Institution for Men at Chino[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-06-me-43521-story.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) |
| Later portrayal | Played by Timothy Olyphant as a recurring character in Quentin Tarantino's *Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* (2019)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) |
## Early life and name
Stacy was born in Los Angeles to Louis Nicholson Elias, a bookmaker whose Lebanese immigrant parents had entered the United States by way of Canada, and Lois Marie Naylor Dugan, a waitress; he had five siblings.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) As a teenager he wanted to play professional football, and a 1968 fan-magazine profile says he played at Glendale College and turned professional with the Vancouver Lions.[5](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/Who%27s-Who-in-TV-No-18-1968.pdf) A friend's suggestion led him into acting classes instead.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/)
He built his screen name from two sources: "James" from the actor [James Dean](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-dean), one of his idols, and "Stacy" from a relative (IMDb records a cousin; a fan site names his niece).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) • [6](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html)
## Early career
His first film appearance was uncredited, as a reporter in *Sayonara* (1957) starring [Marlon Brando](https://www.edgepedia.org/marlon-brando), followed by a sailor's part in the 1958 musical *South Pacific*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) • [7](https://www.filmreviewdaily.com/in-memoriam/james-stacy) Film work brought little recognition, so he turned to television, with appearances on *The Donna Reed Show*, *The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet* (where he played Fred, a college friend of [Ricky Nelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ricky-nelson), from 1958 to 1964), *Cheyenne*, *Have Gun – Will Travel*, *Perry Mason*, and *Gunsmoke*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) • [3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/james-stacy) • [6](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html) He also appeared in the [Walt Disney](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney) film *Summer Magic* (1963).[6](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html)
## Lancer
In 1968 Stacy won his first major role as Johnny Madrid Lancer, a young half-Mexican gunman, in the 20th Century Fox western *Lancer*, opposite [Andrew Duggan](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-duggan), Wayne Maunder, and Elizabeth Baur.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-james-stacy-obit-20160919-snap-story.html) • [6](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html) The series ran from 1968 to 1970 and produced 51 color episodes; a fan-maintained history attributes its early cancellation to the declining audience for television westerns at the time.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-james-stacy-obit-20160919-snap-story.html) • [6](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html)
## The 1973 accident and comeback
On the night of September 27, 1973, Stacy was riding his motorcycle with his girlfriend, Claire Cox, as a passenger when a car driven by a drunk driver struck them. Cox was killed, and Stacy's left arm and left leg were torn off in the impact.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-james-stacy-obit-20160919-snap-story.html) • [6](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html) The medical bills wiped out his savings; his ex-wives and Hollywood friends held a benefit in 1974 that raised over $100,000.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) • [6](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html)
The collision also produced litigation. According to a 1990 Los Angeles Times profile, Stacy's was the first case to receive a jury verdict under the California Supreme Court's 1971 ruling that an establishment could be sued for damages in an accident caused by a drunk driver who had been its patron, and he won a $1.9-million settlement; a 1996 Times report instead describes a $1-million judgment against the tavern owner that the state Supreme Court upheld.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-10-ca-70-story.html) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-06-me-43521-story.html)
**Return to work.** In 1975 Stacy came back as a newspaper editor in the western film *Posse*, in a part [Kirk Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirk-douglas), the film's director, wrote expressly for him.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) Roles for a double amputee were scarce, and he later told [The Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-times) that he was offered mostly parts written for physically handicapped characters, particularly Vietnam veterans.[6](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-10-ca-70-story.html) He played a disabled [Vietnam veteran](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-veteran) in the 1977 NBC television movie *Just a Little Inconvenience*, opposite Barbara Hershey, which brought an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series, and a second nomination in 1986 for a *Cagney & Lacey* guest appearance as an advocate for the disabled.[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/james-stacy) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-10-ca-70-story.html) His later screen work included *Double Exposure* (1982), *Something Wicked This Way Comes* (1983) with Jason Robards, *Matters of the Heart* (1990), a five-part arc on *Wiseguy* in 1990 that marked his first acting job in three years, and *FX2 – The Deadly Art of Illusion* (1991).[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/james_stacy) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-10-ca-70-story.html) IMDb records his retirement as 1991.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/)
## Personal life and later legal troubles
Stacy married twice, both briefly: to the actress and singer [Connie Stevens](https://www.edgepedia.org/connie-stevens) from October 1963 to November 1966, and to the actress [Kim Darby](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-darby) from March 1968 to June 1969, with whom he had a daughter, Heather Elias.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) He was survived by his partner, Antigoni Tsamparlis, as well as his daughter, a grandson, a great-grandson, and a brother and sister.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-james-stacy-obit-20160919-snap-story.html)
In 1995 he pleaded no contest to molesting the 11-year-old daughter of friends who were visiting his Ojai home, and, while out on bail, was arrested twice more on misdemeanor prowling charges involving young girls.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-09-me-12074-story.html) He skipped his December 1995 sentencing hearing, forfeited his $50,000 bail, and fled to Hawaii, where he jumped from the Pali Lookout, a 1,200-foot cliff above the Pacific; he fell 45 feet onto a ledge and survived with cuts and bruises, and was arrested in a Honolulu hospital.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-09-me-12074-story.html) He was given a six-year prison term on March 5, 1996, and carried it out in its entirety at Chino's California Institution for Men.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-06-me-43521-story.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/)
## Death and screen legacy
Stacy died on September 9, 2016, in [Ventura, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/ventura-california), at age 79, of anaphylactic shock.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) • [3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/james-stacy) His renewed visibility came through [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino)'s *Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* (2019), in which [Timothy Olyphant](https://www.edgepedia.org/timothy-olyphant) portrayed Stacy as the star of the *Lancer* set alongside Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton; the film shows Stacy riding away from the set on a motorcycle, a nod to the later accident.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/) • [11](https://www.tvinsider.com/1278861/) Olyphant reprises the role in David Fincher's Netflix film *The Adventures of Cliff Booth*.[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/1278861/)
## References
1. [James Stacy – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821082/bio/)
2. [Actor James Stacy, star of 1960s Western 'Lancer,' dies, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-james-stacy-obit-20160919-snap-story.html)
3. [James Stacy, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/james-stacy)
4. [Actor Stacy Sentenced in Molestation, Los Angeles Times (March 6, 1996)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-06-me-43521-story.html)
5. [Who's Who in TV No. 18 (1968), Radio Album, WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/Who%27s-Who-in-TV-No-18-1968.pdf)
6. [James Stacy, TVCowboys.net](https://www.tvcowboys.net/jshome.html)
7. [James Stacy – In Memoriam, Film Review Daily](https://www.filmreviewdaily.com/in-memoriam/james-stacy)
8. [A Return to Television, Los Angeles Times (February 10, 1990)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-10-ca-70-story.html)
9. [James Stacy, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/james_stacy)
10. [Ojai Actor James Stacy Arrested in Hawaii, Los Angeles Times (December 9, 1995)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-09-me-12074-story.html)
11. [Meet James Stacy: Inside the Complicated Life of Timothy Olyphant's 'Cliff Booth' Character, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1278861/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames Q to St*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license